Come With Me
by alooriana
Summary: .. eventual testament x dizzy .. When Dizzy starts to hear voices in her head that are telling her that she is the commander of the gears, she starts to panic. What will become of her and her friends?
1. propagation

_"I...always thought of myself as the only exception. But I don't feel that way anymore."  
- _Dizzy

* * *

Dizzy gave a small yawn and readjusted her position on the branch she was sitting on so her tail could swing down and relax. She was sitting high up in an oak tree, contentedly observing her surroundings of the forest that had been her home for as long as she could remember.

She had been hidden here to escape the abuse of the humans. Humans who were afraid of her. When Commander Gear Justice had died, the entire population of gears had malfunctioned and had their minds wiped, completely voided of all memories. They did nothing- couldn't do anything without orders from a leader, and therefore the humans had triumphed over the gears.

However, when they found Dizzy, a half-human half-gear who was still intact after Justice's death, they started to worry.

Countless bounties were put on her head to track her down and kill her, but they had run into a problem or two.

Problem one was Testament.

When Justice died, the gears malfunctioned. This included Testament, though however, Dizzy had come across him and saved him in time before he was destroyed. After that, he swore to protect her no matter what, come a bounty hunter or an army.

Testament, Dizzy thought, was technically… her best friend. Her guardian, so to speak.

She smiled at this thought. She had always been one to be afraid of being alone, but ever since she had met Testament, he had kept her company and given her a friend when she needed one most.

He always said that she was the one most precious to him, and Dizzy liked to hear him say that. Inside, it made her feel like she was on this earth for a purpose other than being hunted and abused by humans.

Problem two was herself.

Even though she was only a half-gear, she had incredible fighting powers. Her other two guardians, Undine and Necro, fought alongside her (sometimes without her consent) and in her short life, she had only been defeated once… by Sol.

He had come into her woods and found her, defeating her. She couldn't match his power; to her it was insane. However, she did not turn out how Sol thought she would and he spared her life.

After that, things were relatively quiet until she had been grafted onto the Jellyfish Pirates crew, where she grew to be very good friends with May and April. Life there had been fun, though a little awkward at times. Dizzy had felt useless, having grown up not knowing how to do mundane things like wash a plate or do the laundry. May had taught her and found the entire ordeal rather amusing, but Dizzy did not and eventually convinced May to let her take some 'shore leave' back in her forest grove.

Dizzy had thought it to be a good idea, and since Sol had already come and fought her, she deemed the place to be relatively safe. The odd person came now and again to try and seek her out for a fight, but those times Testament did away with them.

And ever since then, she had been here, spending her time quietly with the place she grew up in, and on the odd occasion, May or Testament came to visit her. They talked about mundane things, which may seem amusing; a girl with blue hair, a tail and wings talking to a tall black-haired man with a scythe about the weather.

But it made her happy, and that seemed to make Testament happy, though his face rarely showed emotion so Dizzy found it hard to analyse what he was feeling.

A small bellbird hopped onto the branch next to Dizzy's head and she smiled, listening to it's friendly song as it chirped. Soon, other birds joined in with it as a chorus and Dizzy looked around for the cause. Seeing the sunlight that filtered through from the roof of leaves start to fade, she concluded it was time for their eveningsong. She sat and listened for around half an hour or so, before she was slightly startled by Testament appearing on the branch next to her.

He looked solemn as always, his crow sitting next to him on the branch and eyeing the bellbirds mischievously, but his giant scythe was nowhere to be seen. He didn't often carry it with him, as he didn't always need it and he could call it to him if he did.

Unneeded burdens were unnecessary, he always said. Dizzy agreed.

"Hello, Dizzy." His deep voice was level, but not emotionless. She gave him a cheerful smile.

"Hello. How are you?" She replied, as she shifted again so she was sitting more upright. April always scolded May for slouching at the dinner table, and it had rubbed off on her. Every time her shoulders inched down the tree trunk, she heard April's voice shout in her head.

Testament inclined his head. "Well enough. And you? No… trouble, I hope?"

Dizzy knew what he meant when he said trouble. "I've been fine, and you know I'd let you know if there was any trouble. I tell you everything."

He gave a wry smile. "I know. I cannot help but worry, though. After Sol."

"Sol was a long time ago. In my sense, anyway. Isn't it best to leave the past well alone?"

Testament shrugged his shoulders. "It is also best to not repeat past mistakes. Anyway, I shall drop the subject." Dizzy let out a small giggle at his behaviour and nodded.

"Okay. I saw May and Johnny the other day." She saw Testament tense slightly at the mention of Johnny's name, but he relaxed soon after. She knew that they had had several 'run-ins' in the past.

"I see. And how were they?"

"Fine. May, full of energy as she always is. Johnny, the wallflower he always is. All mouth and no cognitive functions."

Testament chuckled at Dizzy's aspect on him. It was true to a tee. "Have you decided on any plans yet? Leaving the forest?"

Dizzy looked down towards the grassy carpet of the forest and shook her head slightly.

"I… don't know. I still don't know if it's safe for me, out in the real world. The forest is comforting. I feel at home here… and I don't know when I'm going to leave."

There was a short silence between the two as they both thought back to the numerous fights they had been in, just defending Dizzy.

"I understand." Testament said at last, a twinge of sympathy in his voice. Dizzy smiled internally. He did care, after all. "Take your time. I will protect you, whatever path you choose to take."

"Thank you, Testament…" She said, and she said it as if she meant it, too. The number of times he had put his life on the line for her, well… she had lost count. She looked him in the eyes, so similar to hers in colour and he nodded, a silent understanding between the two.

"The world governments have seem to have forgotten about me now, anyway." She continued. "Perhaps… I could live a life of peace outside of here. Just not yet."

Testament just listened to her speak. He knew she needed someone to talk all these ideas out onto; she was in this forest alone day after day, just thinking. He also knew how hard it was for her, to deal with the constant hatred. And it was also how he admired her, for fighting against it and still being a virtuous person. She started to speak again and caught his attention.

"Though… when I go somewhere, I want you to come with me…" She said, thoughtful and genuine. Testament was surprised and somewhat flattered at the same time, though they both knew he would've gone with her anyway.

"Of course. I would not have it other wise." He said, his wry grin on his face again. His crow cawed, sick of being ignored and flew off indignantly. Dizzy watched it disappear.

"Won't you lose it?"

"No. She always comes back." Testament replied, slightly amused by the birds antics. It was one of the most temperamental creatures he knew, humans included.

"Oh, okay then. That's very loyal." She said, grinning at Testament who shook his head at her folly and then looked to the sky.

"You are a person unto yourself, Dizzy." He said, making the half-gear giggle. After she had finished, he turned back to her. "I had better go now. I'll be back in the morning." He stated simply, standing up on the branch he had been sitting on.

"Of course. Goodbye, Testament. Take care." She said, giving him a little wave at which he gave a hint of a smile at. Suddenly, his crow burst through the trees and came to perch on his shoulder, happy to be reunited with her owner once more and being given his attention.

"Goodbye, my Dizzy." And with that, he slowly disappeared into darkness that had not been there a few minutes ago. Dizzy blinked a few times and then gave another yawn, looking again at the quickly darkening sky.

---

Deciding that it was time to go inside shelter for the night, Dizzy stood up and jumped off the high branch, Undine and Necro spreading to slowly lower her down. When she touched down softly on the forest floor, they disappeared again and she wandered around the base of the oak to an overgrown path, one that was hardly ever walked.

She continued down it for a few minutes, before she had a twinge in her head. Stopping short, she gasped at the short pain and shook her head, as if trying to get rid of it. Something filtered through the pain and seeped into her thoughts, or so she felt, and it whispered to her.

_'Dizzz… dizzzyyyy…you're the one… of the all…'_

Dizzy would have cried out at the strange voice in her head, one alien to her own thoughts, if only the sound was tangible. But it wasn't, and it disappeared as soon as it had come, leaving her standing there and trembling. She stayed there for a few minutes, as if to confirm it wasn't coming back, and perhaps she may have just imagined it, before she continued down the path.

Turning right at an overgrown junction, she came to a pine tree well over 50 times her size, with a large gaping hollow trunk, a tree-cave with a little door Dizzy had fashioned for it over the years she had stayed there. Walking up to it, her head twinged again and she fell forward, supporting herself on the doorframe with her hand as the pain subsided, just leaving her with a dull headache and no voices.

Walking inside the tree, Dizzy felt scared for the first time since she had laid eyes on Sol.

_What is happening to me?_


	2. instigation

_"I'm no longer alone. I have friends waiting for me to return."  
_- Dizzy

* * *

Dizzy was lying on a futon that May had kindly lent her from the Mayship. She had made a fuss of her and said there was no way she'd let her friend sleep on the forest floor like Dizzy had done for so long before she had met them, and May herself had come down and 'brightened' up the hollow tree where Dizzy resided.

Dizzy herself wasn't really bothered by the Spartan nature of her living quarters, and was fine with the way it was at the moment.

Rolling over to one side, she gave a little sigh, still retaining the headache she had caught earlier from the strange twinges. Unfortunately, it had gotten worse. What annoyed her, though, was that all she could do was sit there and take the pain until it went away.

She was still thinking about what had happened earlier; it had scared her. A lot. She didn't know what was happening, why it had happened to her or who was speaking to her inside her head.

The one thing that really gave her chills though, was somehow… the voice seemed familiar.

When she had heard it, the voice sounded like a chorus of a thousand pained souls screaming, a voice not meant for the living. Yet somehow, she felt as if she had heard the voice before…

Turning over to her other side, Dizzy growled internally at her headache. She wished it would just go and leave her alone…

After an hour or so, a while after the forest had sunk into the void of night, Dizzy fell asleep, alone and distressed.

---

The next morning Testament re-appeared in the same place he had the previous evening, and was surprised not to find Dizzy sitting on the opposite branch waiting for him. Usually she'd be up, as she knew he always came at this time to check on her, and… he felt that she enjoyed talking to him, as well.

Frowning at his thoughts, he pushed it to one side and his mind drifted to where Dizzy might be. He looked around for a minute before he jumped down to the ground and started looking around the forest for her. Surely she still had to be here…

---

Dizzy lazily opened her eyes and looked out what could be called a window in her hollow tree trunk, surprised to see the sun already out, though obscured by clouds making the scenery a little darker. She was about to move to get up, before the full force of her headache hit her and sent her reeling in pain, leaving her clutching her head.

Suddenly, that same twinge she had felt the day before came back. She felt as if something cool was sliding over her mind and invading her thoughts again…

'Dizzy… dizzy… you're the one, the one of us all…' The disembodied voice started again, the sound of the very words tearing at Dizzy's ears. However, the voice appeared not to care and continued.

'Dizzy… you're the leader. The leader of us all… Dizzy… take command… like destiny wants you to…' It said, tears streaming down Dizzy's cheeks with the pain. The voice was so inhuman, she couldn't stand much more of it. What did it mean anyway?

The one of them all? The leader? What was she supposed to take command of?

'DIZZY…' it screamed, making her writhe. 'TAKE COMMAND… LIKE FATE INTENDED.'  
Suddenly, she couldn't stand hearing it anymore and let out an ear-piercing scream, of fear and pain.

---

Hearing the scream and immediately placing it as Dizzy's voice from the opposite direction, Testament whirled around and ran as fast as he could, through the thicket and dodging the branches that seemed to reach out to him and grab him.

_If anything ever happens to her… I would never be able to forgive myself…  
_Pausing for a minute to determine the direction again, he feinted right and started running again; coming to the huge hollow tree he recognized to be Dizzy's home. 

And her scream was echoing right out of it.

Raising his right hand, black fire spread out of it, flared and then died, revealing his blood-red scythe. Gripping it with one hand, he ran towards her door and burst through it, prepared to fight any foe that had touched her.

But, Dizzy was sitting there by herself, on her futon with her hands clutching her temples and tears running down her cheeks.

Slightly panicked, Testament put his scythe to one side and knelt down beside her and her futon. She was still screaming and didn't look like she was going to stop, and from Testament's experience in military situations, he had seen a lot of fighting and could only predict she was hysterical. He had never seen her like this, nor seen something that had scared her so and it pained him to see the only person he cared about in this sort of state. So, he followed what his instincts told him to do and gently placed his arms around her trembling frame and held her to him. He started murmuring to her quietly and she stopped screaming, only leaving her chest heaving with dry sobs. Stroking her hair, he continued to whisper to her as she calmed down a little bit at a time.

"Shhh… it's all right, Dizzy… there's nothing here but you and me…" He said, surprised to hear words of comfort like that come out of his own mouth, which he thought spoke nothing but hatred and bitterness. And so she slowly calmed down until her sobs were only tiny sniffles, though she had been and still was in a great deal of pain, she was indeed comfortable in Testament's arms. Which was when she realised, he had actually been holding her.

She looked up at him with tearstained eyes to meet his red ones.

"I-I'm sorry… I got you all wet…" She whispered as she turned and tried to dry her eyes with her sleeves, again upset that she might've angered Testament. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this…" She continued, some tears welling up in her eyes again. Testament shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder.

"No, Dizzy… I don't care at all. I do not wish you to be upset above all else and would do anything to prevent it… would you please tell me… what happened?"

Relieved inside that she hadn't alienated Testament from her, she hesitated before she answered. She had never really had anything to hide from him, and therefore there wasn't anything she had never told him… though something told her that it wasn't a good idea to reveal what had been happening to her. Dizzy felt marvellously guilty for doing so, but she decided to follow her instincts and do what they told her.

"I-I… just had a bad dream. And a headache I can't seem to shake off." She said weakly, giving a tired half-smile to Testament, who clearly looked like he didn't believe a word of what she was saying. He was highly suspicious and also very worried about the one most precious to him, but decided to go along with her story and give her more time to calm down.

"… I see. Well… in view of this situation, I shall stay here tonight." He said, planning on keeping vigil over her. It was the least he could do to ensure her protection anyway.

"Won't someone miss you?" Dizzy said quietly, wiping away the last remains of her tears and getting up, walking over to her hand basin and washing her face. Testament put on a wry smile and shook his head, his long black bangs shaking.

"No. My life isn't quite like that." He replied, getting up himself and picking up his scythe, his palm flaring with the black flames again and swallowing the weapon into a void, disappearing with both the fire and scythe and leaving nothing left. However, he gave a sharp whistle and his crow hopped onto the sill of Dizzy's window and cawed angrily at him, unhappy with being left alone for Dizzy. It got very jealous.

Dizzy dabbed her face dry with a clean towel and hung it back up, looking at her feet. "I see," she said, not wanting to meet Testament's eyes. "Well… I have a spare futon that May gave me…"

"I do not need to sleep," He stated simply. "I will keep vigil over you and protect you from whatever shall come."

Dizzy slowly looked up and met his eyes, the mere image of him giving her a warm feeling and a little more confidence. Even some of her headache seemed to drain away just staring into his eyes.

"Okay, then." She said. "Then it is just the two of us."


End file.
